OpenSUSE Builds Apps For Many Distros

Rising Tide Lifts All Boats

April 12, 2009

By
Sean Michael Kerner

From the 'apps for all' files:

Novell's openSUSE Build Service which enables developers to build application packages for multiple distros including SUSE, Red Hat and Debian/Ubuntu is set to be part of the Linux Foundation's Linux Developer Network (LDN).

Joe Brockmeier the openSUSE Community Manager told me that the idea behind having the build service at LDN is to encourage broader adoption. Brockmeier argued that the tool isn't just for Novell's Linux distribution and can benefit a broad range of Linux users."It's one of those things where a rising tide lifts all boats," Brockmeier said.

Novell has been working on the openBuild Service since January of 2007 and hit its 1.0 milestone in July of 2008. Currently the Build Service is at its 1.6 version which includes support for building packages for ARM based architectures.

The Linux Foundation's Amanda McPherson VP marketing and developer programs explained to me that the way the Build Service will work on LDN is that the LDN site will host a web interface the build service team has
developed for remote sites to tap into their resources. That interface
will plug into a dedicated instance of Novell's build service.

Unlike Mobilin (Intel's mobile Linux effort) which the Linux Foundation is actually taking over from an organizational point of view, the openSUSE Build Service will remain under Novell's technical direction.

"The project itself is still
under the auspices of its development team, though if more people want
to participate on the project after using it, that's really the point
of open source," McPherson explained.